Is Workplace Misogyny Fuelling The Gender Burnout Gap?

When we talk about misogyny in the workplace, it’s easy to picture an era of rotary phones and noisy fax machines: comedic montages of locker-room antics in Anchorman, or the suave, macho dominance embodied by Mad Men’s morally ambiguous protagonist, Don Draper. These depictions offer up overt bravado — scenes from male-dominated industries, where women are often seen, not heard, and exist almost entirely for the convenience of their male counterparts. But for many women today, misogyny in the workplace is far less obvious, operating in covert and systemic ways that research shows are widening the gender burnout gap.

A recent State of Workplace Burnout study from independent Australian think tank and advisory firm Infinite Potential found that, while burnout overall has been stabilising year on year at 38%, the patterns in the gender gap paint a different picture, bucking the trend entirely. While men showed a decrease in burnout levels (30%), the data shows that women are experiencing a much greater increase (42%) since 2023.

In a world where caregiving and nurturing roles often fall to women — both in professional and personal capacities, whether by choice or obligation — it can be easy to label emotional labour as the scapegoat for burnout. While responsibilities like managing school drop-offs, packing lunches, and keeping tabs on various interpersonal relationships are undoubtedly mentally and physically taxing, a closer look at the root cause reveals that workplace culture itself is often to blame, creating a set of restrictive barriers for women while favouring men. Women continue to report higher rates of microaggressions and harassment at work than men, resulting in greater psychological and physical distress. These issues recently re-entered the spotlight in Australia, following the very public breakdown of long-standing radio duo Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson — a saga that unfolded after a pointed, seven-minute tirade from the shock jock himself.

During an on-air discussion about the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Sandilands aggressively criticised Henderson’s interest in astrology. He accused her of being aloof and unfocused, launching into a self-righteous monologue mocking the supposed frivolity of her interests (a striking irony given the show’s own reliance on crass, often lowbrow content). Sandilands’ comments were heavy with condescension, as he labelled her “unworkable,” painting her as an unserious, difficult woman.

Since then, Henderson has parted ways with the network, while Sandilands received only a 14-day suspension for “serious misconduct” in breach of his contract. It’s difficult to see this public character assassination as anything but misogynistic, and an all-too-familiar example of women bearing the brunt of workplace conflict. Whether it’s through direct harassment or the assumption of the role of “mediator”, the debacle highlights the emotional onus that falls disproportionately on women, and the career consequences that often ensue.

The fallout from incidents like this isn’t just about bruised egos. It shines a light on the deeper, ingrained problems in our workplaces, highlighting undercurrents of disrespect and disregard towards women. There are the obvious examples, like the persistent lack of female representation in boardrooms; others are subtler, such as the office “temperature gap,” where heating is still set according to the comfort of middle-aged men. Even in 2026, institutions continue to favour male comfort and often lack the foundations necessary for women to thrive, creating fertile ground for burnout.

According to the State of Workplace Burnout 2024 study, men reported feeling significantly more supported by their organisations than women. More often than not, this standard starts from the top down, where managers and leaders cling to outdated ways of working rather than looking ahead to shape policies and systems that support modern women. And though strides have undoubtedly been made in a post-#MeToo world, it’s difficult to view International Women’s Day cupcakes and lip service initiatives as little more than virtue signalling.

At the end of 2025, the New York Times came under fire for a story titled “Did Women Ruin the Workplace? And if so, can conservative feminism fix it?”. And no, believe it or not, it wasn’t clickbait or satire. The piece featured conservative columnist Helen Andrews, whose ideology stems from the belief that the rise of women in positions of leadership and academia has contributed to the downfall of corporate America. The resistance against empathy, equality, and respect within a workplace, and their supposed conflation with “failure”, is enough of an indication of the harm these patriarchal ideologies can incite.

Most notably, though, it’s hard to look past the pay-to-responsibility disparity. The gender pay gap remains ever-present in Australia and across the globe, as women continue to contend with less pay and less recognition compared to their male counterparts. Despite conversations about the gender wage gap dating back to the early 1900s in Australia, the Workplace Gender Equality Act was only established in 2012, and since then, little progress has been made in achieving true pay equality.

All the while, women are consistently burdened with additional work responsibilities, often at others' request. I’ve lost count of how many times the job of organising the birthday cake, signing the card, or playing therapist for a stressed-out colleague landed on my desk — or my female colleagues’ — after hours, and always unpaid. All this, supposedly in service of fostering a healthy and happy workplace, benefits men. All too often, these responsibilities fall to women under the mask of weaponised incompetence, the idea that we could be so much better at putting up a birthday bunting than Dave in accounting.

If there’s anything these findings make clear, it’s that systemic change is long overdue. The causes of the gender burnout gap are woven into the structures and cultures of our workplaces. Closing this gap won’t happen overnight, but it starts with honest conversations, shared responsibility, and a willingness to challenge the status quo, so that women no longer have to choose between ambition and wellbeing.